On the edge of K-pop: boy band Big Bang's unique appeal

By Jacques Peterson

October 13, 2015 — 11.42am

It's 1996 and four pre-tweens are breakdancing and lip-syncing to hip-hop songs on a South Korean daytime television show. They can't be any older than eight or nine, but they perform with the gusto and professionalism of seasoned entertainers. One is wearing a beanie and baggy jeans like a Wu-Tang Clan Mini-Me. His name is Kwon Ji-yong and he is now known as G-Dragon. A decade after this performance he will go on to become the leader of one of the world's biggest K-pop (Korean pop) bands, Big Bang. But not before he is put through one of the country's famously strict bootcamp-style training programs for idol musicians.

This month, Australians can see the results of this rigorous system, and the idiosyncratic twist G-Dragon and his four bandmates put on the idol genre, as the group tour the country for the first time. Their two gigs at Allphones Arena are set to be the biggest K-pop concerts to hit the city since 2011's star-studded K-pop Music Fest sang and danced to a half-empty ANZ Stadium. Demand for the quintet was so high that the first date sold out in 24 hours, resulting in the almost immediate addition of a second show (the band's Melbourne show at Rod Laver Arena has also sold out).

K-pop band: Big Bang

"To be honest, we were a bit surprised, even though we know that Big Bang are arguably the biggest K-Pop boy band in the world," says Jamaica dela Cruz, the host of TV and radio show SBS PopAsia, when asked about the response to the tour. "It's not so much that we doubted Big Bang's popularity, it's more that we were thinking Australia has a comparatively smaller market, and that international fans are more likely to [go and see them] in other countries than Australia."

Although K-pop still remains a niche genre outside of Asia, the team behind Big Bang's 2015 Made Tour is extravagant enough to put many American pop stars to shame. The crew includes a six-piece band headed by musical director Gil Smith II, who has worked on projects for rapper Lil' Wayne and K-pop YouTube sensation Psy; visual director Ed Burke, who was behind Beyonce's award-winning 7/11 music video and her HBO documentary Life Is But a Dream; and creative director and production designer Leroy Bennett, who has worked with everybody from Lady Gaga to Paul McCartney.

Advertisement

G-Dragon and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld after the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year. Credit:Rindoff/Dufour

One look at Big Bang's resume and it's not hard to see how they're able to snag such industry heavyweights: more than 9.5 million likes on Facebook, 1.5 billion YouTube views, an MTV Europe Music Award, and collaborations with Missy Elliott, Skrillex, and Diplo are just some of the staggering statistics that make Big Bang K-pop's poster boys.

"They are the biggest K-pop band in the world," says Bennett. "They're a group of five very talented individual artists, who, when solo, are very strong, but as a group they are massive."

The group's global success can be attributed to two things: they are different enough to feel exciting and unique while being familiar enough not to alienate Western audiences. Their sound is commercial Western pop and R&B, but with a twist. Recent hit Bae Bae is a bouncy hip-hop track threaded with country guitar riffs, while EDM club number Bang Bang Bang forgoes​ the usual hands-in-the-air dance hook for a slow trap-inspired crawl.

They effortlessly embody the box-breaking creativity of K-pop while bypassing the parts that might feel too manufactured to those who are more accustomed to American pop stars, like the matching uniform outfits or the synchronised choreography that are so prevalent in the shows of many of the genre's top stars.

It's also impossible to talk about Big Bang's popularity without looking at their high-concept fashion and music videos. They're a stylist's dream, sporting everything from a simple embroidered blazer and jeans to Sid Vicious-inspired punk rock garb, technicolour animal prints, trendy Seoul street wear, and hot-off-the-runway luxury labels. Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld and designer Jeremy Scott count the band as friends, and members G-Dragon and Taeyang are regulars at high profile events such as Paris Fashion Week.

Like all stylish pop stars, Big Bang's outfits are central to their Instagram accounts, which boast a combined 14 million-plus followers between the four members active on the social media platform. Almost half of those belong to G-Dragon, whose feed includes photos with Hollywood's A-list (Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton), artsy movie recommendations (Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers), and some of Big Bang's recent magazine covers (GQ, Vogue).

The 27-year-old is by far Big Bang's most popular member and is generally seen as the creative force behind the group's sound and image. It is his daring sense of style that has shaped the group's look and, along with YG Entertainment's in-house hitmaker Teddy Park, he's credited as a writer and producer on almost all of Big Bang's tracks.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that G-Dragon's own musical hero is fellow singer, rapper, producer, and fashionista Pharrell Williams.

"Ever since I got into writing hip-hop music, he's been my only living idol," G-Dragon told The Hollywood Reporter last year.

Williams has returned the love, tweeting about the K-pop star's "amazing talent" and giving him a shout out in a video to promote the Korean release of his hit single Happy.

Big Bang's celebrity admirers extend far beyond the Happy hitmaker: Nelly Furtado and Jessie J have asked to collaborate, indie darling Grimes loves their music, and Will and Jaden​ Smith are fans, as is Paris Hilton.

Although the group are a product of South Korea's manufactured star-making system, the members break the mould by contributing to their own music and visual concepts – a rarity in K-pop, where entertainment agencies control every aspect of an artist's career.

"Big Bang consider themselves artists, not idols, since they create their own songs and craft their own messages," says dela Cruz. "That authenticity could definitely contribute to their success with Western audiences."

As Big Bang trek the globe for their 2015 tour, their labelmate, CL, from the fashionable girl group 2NE1, is in the early stages of a fully fledged crossover attempt. She has signed with celebrity manager Scooter Braun, best known for discovering Justin Bieber and breaking Psy in the United States, and will release an English-language EP through Diplo's trendy Mad Decent label before the end of the year.

"I've definitely noticed an increase in K-pop fans since I started hosting SBS PopAsia in 2010," says dela Cruz. "I think it has also flowed on from people engaging more with Asian entertainment, for instance the Chinese dating show If You Are the One, [which] has a cult following on SBS 2."

With Asian pop culture gaining more traction Down Under – Big Bang are one of three K-pop groups touring Australia this year – could we see more big names headed our way?

"I definitely think that Big Bang and the success of this tour will blow doors wide open," says dela Cruz. "Five years in [to SBS PopAsia], I would say there's definitely more of a mainstream awareness, but it still remains somewhat niche. Who knows what will happen in five more years though."

Big Bang play Allphones Arena on October 17 and 18 and Rod Laver Arena on October 21.